Most cars run on gas. Gas cars work very well. But there is a problem. Cars that run on gas make the air dirty. The dirty air is not good for people, animals or trees. Gas cars make the air dirty for all living things. What can we do? We can drive electric cars!

    Electric cars do not use gas. These cars do not make the air dirty. These cars have batteries that power their motors (马达). The batteries can be charged (充电) many times. They can be used again and again. This makes electric cars great.

    But electric cars have problems too. They are slower than gas cars. They are also very quiet. This means that some people can't hear them when they go by. They may not think a car is coming. So they have to be careful.

    People are finding ways to make electric cars better all the time. Maybe one day all cars will be electric. That would be much better for the world.

    Where were dominoes (多米诺骨牌) from? Modern dominoes first showed up in Italy during the 18th century. But it is believed that the earliest dominoes were Chinese playing cards. Italian missionaries (传教士) in China may have brought the game to Europe. Do you think so?

    Do you like to play with dominoes? Dominoes are small rectangular (长方形的) pieces made of wood or plastic (塑料). People can place dominoes in different shapes. Then, they push one domino down and the rest of the dominoes fall one by one. It is interesting to watch.

    But placing dominoes is hard. To make sure the dominoes fall smoothly, the space between each domino is important. According to domino—play. com, if a domino is about 4 cm long, then the space between two dominoes should be1—2 cm. If the space is too big, the dominoes will stop falling halfway. If the space is too small, the dominoes will fall too quickly and won't look interesting.

    Beginners can start by putting dominoes in a straight line. This is the easiest shape. Professional (专业的) players can place dominoes in many other shapes, including big circles, beautiful flowers and even famous paintings.

    Schools in the UK are quite different from those in China. In the UK, at the beginning of the term, students must select their courses and teachers first.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} So in the first term, don't select too many courses, or you'll feel nervous and it may influence your study. Then you have to ask for some teaching plans. There is some information about subjects, time arranging, marks and textbooks. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Different teachers have different teaching methods.

    If the teacher is called "killer" by the last grade, many students will give up choosing him, because this kind of teacher will leave too much homework, give too many exams and too low grades.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} How to buy textbooks makes each student feel hard. The textbooks in the UK are very expensive. Each copy is about $30 -50. In order to save money, many students buy some used textbooks. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    In class, discussing is very important. The teachers always encourage you to ask questions or show your own opinions freely. They don't usually ask you to sit well. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They usually don't give you much homework to do. So in the schools in the UK you can learn knowledge and do exercises by yourself. You must do almost all things independently.

A. And some students usually borrow textbooks from the school library.

B. At the same time, you must select the teachers.

C. Selecting is very important for your grades in the UK.

D. Instead, they allow you to sit or stand everywhere you like.

E. There is another thing after you select the courses and the teachers.

When I was about ten, I was woken up by the shouts（喊声）of my sister one morning. She was hungry, but my mother wasn't at home, so I made a banana cake for her. Let me share the recipe with you.

What you need:

2 eggs  3 bananas  2 cups of flour(面粉)

2 spoons of baking powder(发酵粉)

1/4 spoon of baking soda (小苏打)

1/2 spoon of salt

2/3 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of vegetable oil(油)

What to do:

l  Mix(混合) together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

l  Add the vegetable oil. Then add a little sugar, and stir (搅拌) it.

l  Pour the eggs into the bowl and stir them well.

l  Add the bananas and stir them.

l  Turn the oven to 180℃.

l  Pour them into the oven（烤箱）. Bake（烘焙） the cake for 20 minutes.

l  Get the cake out of the oven, and cut it into pieces to eat.

Mrs. Brown goes to see her son in London. Her son works in a music club there. Mrs. Brown doesn't know London well. And she can't find her way. 

She sees a man at a bus stop. She wants to ask the man the way. "Excuse me! But can you help me please? Which bus goes to Miller's shop? "Mrs. Brown asks. The man is very friendly. He smiles. But he can't speak English. He can speak French. He is new in London. He puts his hand into his coat and takes out a small book. He opens it and reads something on it, "I am sorry. I can't speak English. "

Hi, everybody. Here we're in front of the South Gate. Go straight on, and you'll find the Panda House. Pandas are cute. They like to eat bamboo and lie down all day long. Every year, lots of visitors come here to see them. 

Walk along the road. To the north of the Panda House, you'll find the lions. Lions are the kings of the animal world. Remember that they're dangerous. Never go near them. 

Turn left, and to the west of the Lions' Area, you'll find the World of Birds. Birds make beautiful sounds when they sing. To the north of the World of Birds is the Monkeys' Forest. Monkeys are clever and funny. They jump around and make people laugh. 

Then turn right, and to the east of the Monkeys' Forest, you'll see the giraffes(长颈鹿). They're quite tall. Their long necks help them eat the leaves from trees. 

Northeast of the giraffes there's a bridge. Cross the bridge, and you'll see the elephants. Their large ears are like open fans. 

Here you can see all kinds of animals. Have a nice trip!